The Francis Lewis boys basketball players were angry and they were upset.

The Patriots had recently been given their first loss, a forfeit after one quarter of a game against Newtown on Dec. 15. It centered on coach Perry Dortch having a heated argument with the game’s lone official and eventually leading his team out of the gym.

It ended Lewis’ hopes of an undefeated league season, a lofty preseason goal. The team met shortly thereafter and decided to back up Dortch instead of turn against him.

“We have a chip on our shoulders since — we play harder,” senior guard Francis Arnold said. “We have no mercy for any team we face.”

In the Patriots’ three games since, they have taken it up a notch with three dominant wins.

On Wednesday, they walloped Richmond Hill, 53-33, to improve to 7-1 in Queens A West and head into the holidays a game up on Newtown and Long Island City. The Fresh Meadows squad hasn’t just excelled in league play; it has beaten Manhattan power Environmental Studies and Brooklyn dynamo Bedford Academy. Of their seven league wins, six have been by at least 23 points and the opponent has failed to reach 40.

The key to the Patriots (10-2) is stability. Dortch’s top six players – Arnold, point guard Marlon Sim and forwards Stephon Medard, Rocheny Francois, Calvin Williams and James Louridas – have been together for three years, creating a close bond. Francois, in fact, is in his fourth season on the varsity.

“To have a player you played with since freshman year, it’s like a brother, you trust them with the ball,” Arnold said. “Everything we do, we do as a team. We all take the blame for everything. We go down together and win together.”

The loss to Newtown, in an odd way, brought them even closer. Dortch said he was concerned how his players would react to the result being taken out of their hands. The response was overwhelming because Dortch was sticking up for them, they told each other.

“We’re like a family and families go through stuff and stay together,” Dortch said. “It was negative, but it turned into a positive.”

In the win over Richmond Hill, Medard led the way with 17 points and Francois added 10. Williams and Arnold each had eight and Sim seven. It was typical of the Patriots’ balanced scoring – Medard, Francois and Arnold each average in double figures.

Medard has been the biggest surprise, a versatile, 6-foot-3 small forward who can score inside and out. Over the summer, the sharpshooter improved his ball-handling, adding another dimension to his potent game.

“Now he has more things he can do with the basketball,” Dortch said.

Dortch compares Lewis to a mid-major program in college basketball. What the Patriots may lack in size and athleticism, they make up for in smarts, decision-making and running Dortch’s prudent motion offense.

Environmental Studies coach David Aronson said this Lewis team is different in that it also has talent to go along with a mature approach. It enables the Patriots to play up-tempo when the opportunity presents itself but also understand when the times comes to pull the ball out.

“I would definitely say they are gonna be in the top five, top six,” Aronson said, referring to the Class A playoffs. “They’re a dangerous team.”

Dortch didn’t want to make any predictions for what the future may present. He preaches to his players to take each day as it comes, be it a scrimmage, practice or game. He hopes they can get past the second round, which is the furthest any of his teams have gone in his seven years on the bench. Arnold, the senior guard, has loftier expectations.

“We’re gonna make a big statement come playoff time,” he said. “I feel like we’re headed to do very good things. We’re all playing like we have something to prove. Every team, from the ‘B’ to ‘A’ to ‘AA’ will know about us.”